South Korean studios embrace AI for faster, and cheaper filmmaking

Across South Korea, filmmakers are embracing AI to bring films to life. One of them, Jang Seong-ho, is utilizing a 6 billion won ($4.3 million) investment from Altos Ventures to develop an AI-driven filmmaking system at his studio, Mofac, which is built on Unreal Engine. 

With AI, Jang anticipates streamlined workflows and lower costs, enabling Mofac to produce a full-length film and a series annually. He commented, “With a powerful leader holding AI as a tool, the work that once required hundreds of people could soon be done by just one or two.”

South Korean filmmakers have lined up AI projects

During the 2020 pandemic, film production was halted, thwarting many filmmakers’ dreams. But for Jang Seong-ho, it helped to give birth to something new. At the time, his South Korean visual effects (VFX) and animation studio was a small operation barely holding together King of Kings, its animated adaptation of Dickens’ The Life of Our Lord, until Hollywood actors Kenneth Branagh, Oscar Isaac, and Uma Thurman joined the project.

King of Kings, released stateside around Easter, broke a new U.S. record for South Korean cinema and surpassed the Oscar-winning Parasite’s success. So far, the film has earned $60 million in the U.S. and is on track to top $100 million globally by Christmas — an impressive feat for a production that cost just $25 million, a fraction of Hollywood’s usual budget.

The film has already given Mofac recognition, and its plans for AI integration may solidify that standing even more. Mofac is not the only Korean studio venturing into AI. Pencil is reviving A Better Tomorrow in an AI-assisted animated remake. Moreover, Galaxy Corp., known for managing Song Kang-ho and G-Dragon, is developing AI-powered virtual characters with SKAI Intelligence and Nvidia’s Omniverse. Hive Media Corp., the producer of 12.12: The Day, also joins a growing list of Korean film studios eager to use AI for both animation and live-action work.

Some companies have already actualized some of their AI projects. Earlier this year, Inshorts, an AI company, utilized its Super-Scaler technology to restore and remaster the film Leafie, a Hen into the Wild, in 4K. At that time, the company’s founder had claimed that integrating AI into the remastering process halved costs and greatly accelerated the work.

December 2024 also saw the premiere of bold cinematic experiments featuring generative AI in theaters. It’s Me, Mun–hee and M Hotel saw their big screen debut, with the latter winning awards at both the Busan International Artificial Intelligence Film Festival and Venice’s Reply AI Film Festival.

Park Chan-wook voiced fears that AI tools may jeopardize employment

After founding Sora in early 2024, OpenAI started courting Hollywood. Leaders of the company, including Sam Altman, its chief executive officer, went to Los Angeles for a series of events and meetings with Hollywood executives. They held meetings with film companies, media executives, and talent agencies to showcase the technology; however, these meetings have not yet yielded any deals.

Hollywood is still debating how to incorporate AI into the film industry, particularly with the introduction of OpenAI’s Sora. The artificial intelligence research and deployment company has spent months discussing Sora’s creative and business potential with Disney, Universal, and Warner Bros. Still, some filmmakers are concerned that they won’t be able to protect their IP. Attorney Aaron Moss commented, “Hollywood now faces a stark choice: Take action to protect its IP or wake up to find its most valuable properties circulating as AI-generated slop across social media.”

Some film studios have gone so far as to file lawsuits in an effort to prove that AI apps are producing lookalike versions of their characters. Disney has already taken the first step, suing Midjourney to establish a precedent.

Still, that hasn’t stopped Asian filmmakers from quickly adopting technologies like OpenAI’s Sora and Kuaishou’s Kling AI, which are capable of generating ultra-realistic videos in a matter of seconds. However, top directors are still concerned that AI could replace jobs and alter the artistic language of film.

Park Chan-wook, known for Old Boy and No Other Choice, noted, “It could also take away many jobs and fundamentally alter the aesthetics of cinema. And that fills me with fear.”

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